Virgin Atlantic, a leading long-haul carrier, has revealed a campaign worth £6 million in order to fight off the economic downturn, as well as to highlight why they continue to be red hot even after flying for 25 years. They will celebrate the anniversary of the company on June 22nd.
The center of the new campaign consists of a television advertisement that is set in 1984 and features glamorous flight attendants, as well as a pilot, who are walking through the airport prior to boarding the inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic to New York. The advertisement features images of [...]

Iberia, the flag airline for Spain, has engage human resources consultant Mercer for reviewing the final pension scheme of British Airways after struggling for months to understand the ballooning pension deficit of the British carrier. The report from Mercer is expected to be handed to the Spanish airline’s board in February, as well as a business plan that has been drawn up by McKinsey, a management consultant firm.
Iberia is worried about both the liabilities of inheriting the airline’s pension scheme and how much extra capital that British Airways will have to inject. These concerns are making it very [...]

The Cardiff International Airport is looking to change its name, with suggestions like “Gavin and Stacey Airport,” “Shirley Bassey Gateway,” and “Zeta-Jones International” being thrown onto the table as possible names. Airport bosses are trying to emulate the success that Speke Airport in Liverpool had, which witnessed a major increase in passenger numbers when its name was changed to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Belfast City has been recently renamed as well, with the chosen George Best, a local football hero, being the honoree. Also, the Doncaster Sheffield Airport has been renamed after Robin Hood. However, some of the [...]

The traditional discounts on airfare for the month of January have started earnestly with many airlines joining the price war. bmi has cut their prices on several of their Middle Eastern and European flights which include Moscow flights starting at £185 and Amman flights to start at £399. Plus, flights to Glasgow or Edinburgh will start at £64, and flights for Dublin will start at £57. easyJet has announced that they will be having a seat sale as well that will start this week in a series, with prices to be revealed.
Ryanair is yet another airline who [...]

During the fall, Oscar Dios, a rich, Swedish entrepreneur, saw an old B747 jumbo jet sitting at the Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, and decided to buy it, refurbish it, and turn it into a hostel. The new Jumbo Hostel offers accommodations for 85 people and is located at the front of the airport.
Dios said that he obtained information about the jumbo jet and thought that it could be turned into a hostel. He said that he figured that boats, trains, and light houses have been turned into hostels; why not a plane?
Crews for the construction worked through the [...]

Last Monday, British Airways said that they have agreed to purchase 11 jets from Embraer, a Brazilian plane manufacturer, leaving options open on an additional 3 in an agreement that is worth £247 million. The decision comes as the airline is making an effort to cut costs and improve their performance environmentally.
In an official statement, the airline said that they have placed firm orders for 11 new fuel efficient planes that are to offer passengers comfort and space at unrivaled levels. They have ordered 6 E170s and 5 E190SRs, and there is still an option open for a [...]

On Wednesday, the European Union approved Air France KLM to takeover Martinair, a Dutch cargo and charter carrier.  The agreement will see Air France KLM purchase the last 50% hold in the carrier from A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, a Danish shipping company.   Air France KLM had previously canceled their 1999 bid for the takeover of Martinair because of concerns from the European Union.
The European Commission says that the effects of the buyout on prices will be limited due to Air France KLM already holding 50% of Martinair.  This is also due to the fact that Martinair is dependent that independent travel [...]

During the Christmas holiday, passengers amounting in the hundreds found themselves stranded at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome for the second day Tuesday in a row due to the most recent round of strikes from workers of Alitalia.  Alitalia ground service workers at the airport walked away from their jobs Monday in order to have union discussions about their futures, with a business consortium getting ready to relaunch the airline next year.
After almost 100 canceled flights on Monday, a further 43 services were canceled on Tuesday, according to the carrier.  Mirea Mitrofan, a passenger trying to get to Bucharest, [...]

The hopes of British Airways for securing an alliance deal with American Airlines has taken a hit from American regulators only a few days after the proposed merger between the British airline and Qantas, the national carrier of Australia, collapsed.  The US Department of Transportation ordered British Airways to file further detailed information about their tie-up with the American carrier in relation to their ambitions of expanding globally, the impact it will have on the industry of travel retail, as well as other merger plans that the British carrier currently has.
This mandate request, which analysts are warning may delay [...]

Scandinavian Airline has agreed to put their majority shares of Spanair and minority shares in Air Baltic up for sale. The company’s stake in Spanair, a Spanish airline, is set to be sold to a group of Catalonian investors, while their Air Baltic hold, a Latvian airline, is to be sold to the management team of the airline. Details on both of the sales were released on Thursday last week by the carrier. They plan to maintain a core stake in Spanair, but they will completely sell their 47.2% share in Air Baltic.
Scandinavian Airline, which is targeting [...]